BlackBerry's Jarvis scans code for vulnerabilities

BlackBerry has unveiled Jarvis, a "game-changing" piece of automotive-focused cybersecurity software, at the annual North American International Automotive Show.

BlackBerry said it was offering Jarvis on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Offered as a cloud service, Jarvis is created to scan the entire code for a vehicle, even where a multi-tier supply chain is involved.

While Blackberry is initially targeting automakers, the tech could help with many other industries, scanning the complex software behind healthcare, industrial automation, aerospace and military defense projects, for example.

The product which was released on Monday and is called Jarvis identifies vulnerabilities in software used in cars.

Jarvis users will be able to check their existing software, and review new components before they go into production vehicles.

Once scanned, development teams have access to the results via dashboards with cautions and advisories.

The worldwide "ransomware" attack past year, which is known as WannaCry, helped increase awareness of BlackBerry's security software business that has been widely focused on managing secure connections to mobile devices.

BlackBerry has launched a cybersecurity software aimed at protect driverless cars. Even better news is they've already started trialing it with some of the biggest auto makers in the world, including Jaguar Land Rover.

"Jaguar Land Rover and BlackBerry share a common objective in bringing the most intelligent vehicles to reality", Ralf Speth, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, said.

BlackBerry said it had already tested Jarvis with automaker Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover unit, whose chief executive said Jarvis reduced the time needed to assess code from 30 days to seven minutes.